Category Florida Supreme Court
Thursday Bookshelf: Government in the Sunshine State
Few Floridians know the state as well as UF Professor David Colburn and FSU Professor Lance deHaven-Smith. In 1999, Republicans took complete control of state government for the first time since the Reconstruction era- that same year during Legislative Session Government in the Sunshine State: Florida Since Statehood was released and delivered to every Legislative […]
The GOP and Central Florida: Mapping out a Decade of Partisan Gerrymandering
Al Gore’s 2000 victory in Orange County, the first in the county by a Democratic Presidential candidate since 1944 sent shockwaves through the consulting class of Florida’s GOP. Having just captured complete control of state government in 1998, Central Florida was thought of as a reliable Republican area, the top of the “Republican Horseshoe” that […]
Redistricting, Gerrymandering, and the November Elections: Big Changes?
Publisher’s Note: Please join us in welcoming Katy Burnett our newest writer to The Florida Squeeze site. Katy who is a Florida native will become a familiar name to our readers over the course of the next several months as she discusses hot-button issues in the state as well as election 2014. If you are […]
Florida’s Redistricting Doesn’t Have to be a Mess Ever Again
Not so long ago there was a sweeping constitutional revision of the state’s redistricting process. Pushed through by a coalition of reformist organizations and opposed by an entrenched majority, it was a painful first step away from decades of hyper-partisan map making and the perennial shady maneuverings of incumbents eager to maintain their offices. Not surprisingly, the newly-drawn maps […]
NSF: FL Supreme Court overrules lower court, makes admissable RPOF redistricting documents
The Florida Supreme Court today offered us a stark reminder of what’s at stake in the 2014 Governor’s race when they again did the right thing and allowed the League of Women voters and other plaintiffs in the ongoing reapportionment case to review and enter into evidence (and hopefully someday the public record) operative-drawn maps, emails and […]
Monday Musings: FEA Endorses Crist, Matt Gaetz’s reefer madness, Infrastructure development, Anti-Americanism and Islam in India post election , RPOF (again) obstructs redistricting investigation
The Florida Education Association endorsed Charlie Crist for Governor on Saturday. The recommendation was long expected. The state’s teachers’ union has been concerned about the continued assault on public schools under the Scott Administration and the current legislative leadership. However, many activists have questioned the FEA’s endorsement based on Crist’s previous record on issues related […]
The Rightward Drift of the Florida’s Supreme Court
Immediately after the Republicans took complete control of state Government in January 1999, Republicans began talking often and openly about changing Florida’s court system and the way judges are selected. With the Republicans looking to impose a strict ideological framework on state government, the courts stood in the way of the radical rewrite of governance […]